HIRANO KEIKO’S OFFICIAL BLOG

A part of my blog was reprinted in this morning’s Sankei Shimbun. The article was written by a reporter who, despite my strong refusal to give any kind of interview, went ahead and quoted excerpts from my blog without my permission. The article is grounded in baseless assertions—the reporter’s memory—and surely cannot be deemed a responsible newspaper article, as it is not backed up by reliable sources.

The majority of journalists and reporters from newspapers and other media companies who contacted me in light of the issues related to the logo for the 2020 Summer Olympics were, except for a very few, reasonable and conscientious in manner. However, I must say the female reporter from Sankei Shimbun whom I spoke with last night stands out for her despicable words and actions.

Maybe there is no legal problem here. Chances are, it is completely legal. That said, is a reporter allowed to whip up an article without conducting any information-gathering, based solely on conjecture?

So this is a newspaper that proudly runs an article that is a copy and paste concoction of my words. Is this paper really qualified to go after the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games?

Hoping for a better outcome in the upcoming logo competition, I have been drawing up every ounce of bravery I had, to put things down in writing.

I have been writing my blog, trusting in the conscience of the Organizing Committee members. But when I see how my writing has become the source of such an article; how my words are being twisted in the wrong way and being spread about; then I feel I must give up writing. 

I will not give any interviews hereon.
Please, please give me time to think.

In a way that I can take responsibility, making sure facts are not misconstrued, double-checking so that everything is crystal-clear—I want to think about the future of design.